A Tentative Personal Finance Blog

The first step to creating a sound investment plan is to establish clear, specific, and realistic goals. People sometimes over look this process. Having clearly defined objectives, however, can be a guide to developing and implementing a successful investment strategy. And a plan based on long term principles should increase the chances of […]

While almost everyone will have unforeseen expenses from time to time, their effects can be mitigated with some upfront planning. By establishing an emergency fund, you can become more financially prepared to deal with the unexpected and won’t have to compromise other goals, such as saving for your retirement.
Typically, an emergency fund should cover […]

At MSN.com, Liz Pulliam Weston recently listed some traits of the wealthy.

They’re more generous toward charities. Households with half a million dollars or more in investment-ready assets donated an average of 6% of their income in 2004, versus 2% for the overall population. (The poor are more generous than average, […]

The Wall Street Journal had an article called “Financial Planning for the Not-Yet-Rich” that I found rather relevant for this blog. Basically, the article on how traditionally, financial planners have not been particularly interested in our age group - people in their 20s and 30s just beginning their careers and families - because we don’t […]

Four months ago, I decided to take a plunge into the world of investing. So far I’m up almost 7%. If returns continue to come in at the same rate, although I don’t anticipate them to do so, I’d be making a whooping 21% for the year! That would be amazing for […]

The dreaded “B” word. Budget.The only other word that starts with “B” that might generate a worse reaction in most people is the word bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, the word budget has gotten a bum rap. It’s basically just a PLAN. When you budget, […]

Leo of Zenhabits, has a spiffy post on six free alternatives to Quicken & MS Money. I can’t vouch for any of them because I haven’t used them, not even Excel. I know that the spreadsheets work for a few of my buddies. I don’t really see too much of a difference […]